Zetor
Zetor is a Czech tractor manufacturer in Brno-Líšeň, the Czech Republic, now owned by Slovak Company HTC HOLDING Slovensko. Originally, the Zbrojovka Brno company, an auto manufacturer, Zetor first completed building prototype tractors in November 1945. http://www.zetor.cz/default.asp?nDepartmentID=231&nLanguageID=2 Zetor Company Activities page retrieved June 1, 2005 The name Zetor originates from the name of the first letter of the company name Zbrojovka (Zet) and last two letters of the word tractor (or). History The company started production in 1946. Since then, the company has produced over 1.1 million agricultural tractors that are now sold in about 80 countries, including the United States. http://www.zetor.cz/default.asp?nLanguageID=2 Zetor English language website retrieved June 1, 2005 Early Zetor models used an efficient four stroke Diesel engines with mechanical fuel injection. They were considered very advanced, and have proved quite durable. This, combined with their low cost, made them popular in many areas of the world. The company was an early adopter of four wheel drive and mechanical front wheel drive systems, and one of the earliest companies to build heated and air conditioned cabs on their tractors for operator comfort. In 1958, Zetor was an early adopter of unified production methods, where different models used common parts. This led to leaner manufacturing, and allowed the company to meet rising demand. Zetor also licensed its models for production in India and Iraq in the 1950s and 1960s. http://www.tractordata.com/td/zetor.html TractorData.com Zetor page retrieved June 1, 2005 Especially innovative is the Zetor hydraulics system, "Zetormatic", which uses a hydraulic cylinder to transfer most of the weight of towed implements, such as ploughs, to the rear axle of the tractor at the hitch. This gives greater control over plough depth, especially in hilly terrain, and greatly reduces fuel consumption. To deal with larger, wider implement sizes in the 1960s, the system was updated to "Zetormatic II", a system still in use today. http://www.zetorworld.com/ Zetorworld.com various pages (direct linking not permitted) retrieved June 1, 2005 One feature of the late 1970s tractors was the spacious cab, which was a safety cab complete with a second seat for the wife or the Dog. They were also fitted with a compressor and air brake line for trailers on some models. They manufactured there own engines, and they had individual cylinder heads on some models. From 1993-1998, Zetor built some tractors for John Deere that were marketed as John Deere in some parts of the world. They have had involvement in the tractor companies Ursus in Poland, (selling some models as Zetor Crystal; ZTS of Slovakia; Agrale of Brazil; Agtor sold in Australia; HMT in India and Iskendiriya in Iran. Model Range Early Models 2008]] * Zetor 15 of 1947-48 was a 15 hp model single cylinder engine. (only 1800 believed built).Tractor & Machinery Magazine Vol13-3 * Zetor 25 of 1946 was a 25 hp model with a 2 cylinder engine. (over 100,000 built) * Zetor 3011 * Zetor 3045 * Zetor 6011 * Zetor 6045 * Zetor 7045 * Zetor 8045 Crystal 1986 - 85 hp * ? Crawler tractor (compact) The Modern Range (1990s > to date) * Zetor 3320 * Zetor 3340 * Zetor 6421 * Zetor 7540 * Zetor 8540 * Zetor 9640 * Zetor 10540 * Forterra range - (A Zetor 8641 shown above) ** Zetor 8641 ** Zetor 10641 * Proxima range ** Zetor 6441 ** Zetor 7441 * Proxima plus range - available in 88, 99, 109 hp versions ** Zetor 10541 Models built for John Deere *John Deere 2000 (Zetor 3320/40) *John Deere 2100 (Zetor 4320/40) *John Deere 2200 (Zetor 5320/40) *John Deere 2300 (Zetor 6320/40) *John Deere 2400 (Zetor 7320/40) *John Deere 2700 (Zetor 8520/40) *John Deere 2800 (Zetor 9520/40) *John Deere 2900 (Zetor 10520/40) UK Preserved Tractors The older (early) models turns up on the show circuit, but they are not that common. There are quite a few still at work as they are well built and the early compact 4-WD models were popular with some hill farms. * Several Zetors were on display at the Newark VTH show in November 2008. See also *List of Tractor Manufacturers *Glossary Index *Shows and Meets References / sources Wikipedia for base article *The World Encyclopedia of Tractors by John Carroll External links *Zetor Group *Zetor Tractors *Zetor Dealer offering Zetor Spare Parts in the United Kingdom *Zetor Original spare parts home page *List of Zetor Tractors Category:Companies of Europe Category:Tractor manufacturers Category:Crawler Tractors Category:Tractor Category:Zetor